Webzines and Multi-Voiced Blogging

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Transcript of Webzines and Multi-Voiced Blogging

WEB PUBLICATIONSAND MULTI-VOICEBLOGGINGGROUP DISCUSSION:In your groups, discuss the LRB and LRB Blog posts that you read for this week.Question 1: how were the forms different? How were they similar?Question 2: How did the differences affect you as a reader?Question 3: Was one mode "deeper" than the other?The Appeal of Online publication:"“I’ve got a printing press, it’s called my server. I’ve got my trucks fleet, it’s called social media.” - David Beers,publisher of TheTyee.caBlogs are similar to "unbundled" newspapersThey can be "niche"They can -- some say must -- embrace a point of viewThey are often multi-textured and multi-media (Example of print forebear: Adbusters.)The Didactic(Print)vs.The Conversational (Blogs)- all relevant informationis contained within the piece- the author is empowered,as a teacher- usually shorter, "skimmable," broken-up text, often more casual tone (acknowledge POV)- position themselves at temporary centre of a constellation of nodes, using hyperlinks and embeddingLet's look at some examples:• The Tyee• Gawker Media: Gawker; Jezebel; Deadspin• The AV ClubIn-class writing promp:What are your habits as a reader and writer, good and bad? How do you think they've been shaped by print vs. online reading and writing? What are the different ways in which you respond to various forms of writing, in print and online? Write this as a blog post.Boring technical, soul-crushing aside: SEOsSearchEngine0ptimization(not a value judgment!)Multi-voiced blogs & web magazines tend to be united by a "house style," & a somewhat defined purview with regards to subject matter (though these may evolve, or change drastically, e.g. Gawker, VICE Canada).In this sense, they are similar to any other kind of magazine -- but liberated from the constraints of space, physicality, audience size, & time.Or maybe it's more accurate to say that they are even more bound by time -- immediacy, the "constant now" of the internet.